Duration
128h Pr
Number of credits
| Master in architecture, professional focus in architecture and urban planning | 10 crédits |
Lecturer
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This "experiential" workshop, part of the Master's program in "Habitat / Living," explores the interfaces of living, which are intermediate spaces connecting public, collective, and private realms, with a particular focus on the mediations between spatial devices and the diverse investments made by inhabitants. It covers:
- Urban housing spaces, as well as all places and systems that constitute the living environment beyond the residential space.
- Spaces in their materiality, but more importantly, the complex and dynamic relationships that inhabitants maintain with these spaces.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
This workshop enables students to experiment with ethnographic tools and understand their relevance in spatial design work. Students will synthesize all data collected in the field to develop situated architectural intervention hypotheses. It also allows students to deepen their skills in designing living spaces and to develop reasoning about the complexity and nuances of interfaces between public, collective, and private spaces.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
The workshop requires mastery of the skills acquired in the architectural workshop courses of the bachelor's cycle. Given that it involves active interaction with inhabitants, proficiency in French is also required.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The exercise involves a combination of three interrelated components: ethnographic fieldwork, architectural project, and scientific literature.
Ethnographic fieldwork is conducted through "inhabited surveys" involving drawings, photographic reporting, observation, and semi-structured interviews. It aims to identify what is problematic and significant to space users, paying attention to appropriation traces, uses, spatial and material qualities, shortcomings, tensions between interior and exterior, etc. Mandatory exercise sessions will be held before data collection. Results of the surveys are shared: students are expected to consider all collected data within the workshop to develop the "project" component. (In groups of 2 to 3 students, on-site).
The architectural project involves developing one or more architectural hypotheses reflecting an exploration and reinterpretation of public/collective/private interfaces. This work takes into account the fieldwork, the lived space, and relevant scientific literature. (Individual work, in workshop).
- Demonstrate creativity: go beyond the generally functional approach to interfaces, explore what these spaces imply and can imply in terms of living together, quality of urban living, intimacy levels, pathways, etc.
- Start from the existing: develop a surgical approach (pierce, hole, add, graft, subtract, etc.) to address problematic situations and reveal potentials highlighted by the fieldwork.
- Develop an effective project: avoid deploying disproportionate or unnecessary means and propose a "just" architectural response.
- Carefully consider project details: address issues of safety, accessibility, maintenance, ergonomics, views, etc.
For effective learning, attendance and active participation in all workshop activities and fieldwork are mandatory. Students are expected to be active in their learning throughout the day: listening to presentations from other students, interacting with peers and instructors, workshop work, etc. Each student must come to class with the expected work. This will be communicated at the end of each workshop session or via eCampus. Failure to meet this condition will result in denial of interaction with instructors.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
Course materials, some data collection tools, and reference texts will be available via the eCampus platform. Some readings may be mandatory and will be communicated to students one week in advance.
Students are also expected to actively use the faculty library resources to support their work and architectural knowledge.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Written work / report
Out-of-session test(s)
Further information:
The work is evaluated in two parts:
- The ethnographic work, presented orally and in the form of inhabited survey boards, accounts for 25% of the final grade. It will be submitted in two stages: an interim submission and a final submission, respectively during and at the end of the semester. It will be evaluated by the course instructors.
- The project, presented orally and through specified materials, accounts for 75% of the final grade. The project will be evaluated at the end of the semester by a jury consisting of course instructors, other faculty members, and potentially external experts.
- The inhabited survey: the thoroughness of data collection, the quality of data interpretation, and the quality of presentation and analysis boards.
- The architectural project: the student's ability to develop an architectural research approach, their capacity to question and explore interfaces of living through the project, the effectiveness of the proposal (a "just" architectural response using proportionate means), the quality and detail of the project (materiality, accessibility issues, maintenance, ergonomics, etc.)
- Integration: the student's ability to develop reflections, explorations, and positions in the project based on data from inhabited surveys and interviews, and to consider inhabitants' concerns as a driving force for the project.
- Communication skills, both verbal and graphical.
- A general attendance rate of 80%, or at least 50% with valid and justified absences.
- Strict adherence to submission guidelines as communicated by instructors (submission times and locations, required materials, etc.), except for duly justified impossibilities.
After the final submission, instructors will prepare a report detailing the evaluation criteria and, in case of failure, a commented justification for the grade. Students can consult the report during the "copy consultation" organized at a later date to be communicated.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The workshop requires mandatory field trips. These will depend on the availability of inhabitants of the sites we work on and will generally occur outside of class hours. These trips should not involve extraordinary costs (sites accessible by public transport from Outremeuse).
Fieldwork and its presentation must adhere to the highest ethical standards governing scientific research. These standards will be explained to students, who are required to comply with them.
The successful operation of the workshop depends on students' ability to "work collectively." Therefore, each student is expected to contribute to the effective functioning of the group (information sharing, involvement in subgroups, proactivity in collective discussions, etc.).
The course coordinator will take attendance during each session. Any absences must be duly justified with documentation sent as soon as possible via email to the course coordinator and the student secretariat (service.etudiants.archi@uliège.be).
Contacts
Julie Neuwels : Julie.Neuwels@uliege.be
Pierre de Wit : pdewit@uliege.be